Folding basket or bucket.



Patented lune l7, I902.

B. H. HAZEN.

FOLDING BASKET on BUCKET;

(Application med'oeg 21, 1901.

(No Model.)

' body of the basket or bucket may be oper-' UN TED STATES {P T NT OFFICROBERT HENRY HAZEN, OF LULA, MISSISSIPPI,

roLDmc BASKET OR'BUCKE'l'. I

SPECIFICATION forming part of-Iletters Patent Nb. 702,650, dated June17, 1902.

' Application filed October 21, 1901. Serial No. 79,454.. (No model.)

T0 at whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT HENRY HAZEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lula, in the county of Goahoma and State of Mississippi,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Baskets orBuckets, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to baskets and buckets, and particularly tofoldable baskets and buckets, the former for holding cotton or othermaterial for weighing and the latter for holding and carrying water orother liquids.

The object of the invention is to provide a collapsible or telescopicreceptacle-such as a basket or bucket-for the purpose of packing,storing, shipping, and reshipping having a flexible body and novel andpeculiar means for collapsing or folding the receptacle and for openingor extending the same and holding it in rigid extended position.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a foldable,collapsible, or telescopic bucket or basket having a bottom and topconnected by pivoted levers of special construction, so that theflexible or collapsible ated by opening or folding the leversseparately.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a collapsible orfolding bucket or basket with hinged levers adapted to open and close inopposite directions one from the vers so that all the lovers will standin up right position and remain so until each pair of levers is operatedseparately to effect the folding of all the levers and of the receptacleto which they are applied.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, Figure lis a per-' spective View of a bucket infolded position. Fig. 2 is anelevation of a basket extended or unfolded and adapted for weighing thecontents thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the lovers.Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modification,sh'owingabasket with fourpairs of levers. The same numeral references denote the same partsthroughout the several views of unfoldin g orextending the basket,bucket, or

similar receptacleconsist, preferably, of two pairs of levers havingears 6, by which each pair of levers is pivoted together at 7. The toplever 8 of each pair of levers has a flange or heel 9 extendinglaterally from its ear 6 and is turned inwardly at right angles to thepivot end of said lever, and the other end of the top levers is pivotedat 10 to the top ring 2 and projects above the ring for the purpose ofattaching a'handle, as in the'bucket, or, as in the basket, an aperture11 is made in the top ends of the levers to' receive scale-hooks forweighing cotton or othercontents of the basket. The lower levers 12 haveone end pivoted at 13 to the bottom of the receptacle, and their otherends are provided with an ear 14, pivoted on the pivot '7. Each of the 7lower levers 12 has a lateral flange or heel 15 extending from the ears14, andsaid flanges flangesor heels of one pair of levers being upon theopposite side of the pivot to that of the pivot of the other pair oflevers, so that the one pair of levers divides or opens in the oppositedirection to that of the other pair of lovers. The ears and flanges areformed by splitting the pivot ends of :the levers for a short distanceand striking up or bending the metal away from the ears,at right anglesthereto and to the levers, so that the ears are free to work on theirpivots without engaging the flanges, and the latter only engage eachother when the levers are extended in vertical line with each other.This construction is maintained whether the vessel be a bucket, basket,or other receptacle, and no matter how many pairs of levers are employedthey are made to open or divide at their pivot-point alternatively inopposite directions, so that the closing of one pair of levers will notaffect any other pair, but each pair requiring a separate operation toclose, yet all are opened simultaneously by pulling the top ring of thebasket or bucket.

In the modification shown in Fig. at the receptacle 16 is square and hasfour pairs of levers, the bottom ones, 16, of which are cut away andengage a lug 17 on the bottom of the basket to assist in holding thelevers in upright rigid position. These lugs may be employed with thetwo pairs of levers, if de- 'sirable.

It will be seen that the receptacle cannot be collapsed or folded bypressure on the top or bottom, the heels preventing this, nor does theopening of one pair of levers affect the other pair, because they openin opposite directions, and any attempt to force one pair of levers?only increases the rigidity of the other pair, the heels accomplishingthis. Therefore each pair of levers must be opened separately inopposite directions in order to fold or collapse the receptacle. It isobvious that the levers require no mechanism to hold them in eitherposition. The receptacles are folded in very compact form and areunusually light, inexpensive, and durable.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with afoldable receptacle, of the levers pivoted tothe top and bottom of the receptacle and terminatingin ears pivotedtogether and in flanges struck from the ears at right angles thereto andto the levers,so that the ears do not engage the flanges, and the latterengage each other only when the levers are in extended position.

2. The combination, with a foldable basket or bucket, of the upper andlower levers having ears and pivoted together in pairs and to the bottomand top of the basket or bucket, an inturned flange or heel from theears of the upper levers, and an outwardly-turned flange or heel fromthe ears of the lower levers, one pair of said levers adapted to openand close in a direction opposite to that of the other pair of levers,without the ears ongaging the flanges.

3. The combination, with a foldable basket or bucket having bottom lugs,of the upper and lower levers having ears and pivoted together in pairsand to the top and bottom of the bucket or basket, and flanges at rightangles to the ends of the levers at their central pivot-point, one pairof levers opening and closing in a direction opposite to that of theother pair, and the bottom levers engaging said lugs to assist the saidflanges in holding the levers in rigid upright position.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

ROBERT HENRY HAZEN.

WVitnesses:

T. BROWN, W. L. RHODES.

